Sarnie, sanger, sub, hoagie – whatever you call your sandwiches, today marks the start of a week dedicated to this enduringly popular meal. British Sandwich Week (19th to 26th May) is a full seven days devoted to the quintessential lunch of choice for a busy Brit.
Sandwiches are said to be named after John Montagu, the 4th E ...

It’s asparagus season! Short, sweet and full of promise.
These elegant spears – which are in fact part of the lily family - can be traced back to ancient Greece, and the Roman times. It arrived in the UK in the 16th century.
There are so many benefits to eating asparagus it’s hard to know where to start. It fights again ...

Forget fine wines, vintage whisky or cold beers on hot summer afternoons. Everyone knows coffee is the good stuff. There for you at the start of every day, a deep bitter and exciting kick.
UK Coffee Week begins today (29th April until 5th May) and while we deliberate over a double espresso or an iced latte, it’s worth rememb ...

We think Easter is pretty underrated as a holiday. It plays second fiddle to its flashier sibling, Christmas. But there are so many perks to Easter, not least where food is concerned. Here are four delicious things to look forward to over the long weekend…
Hot Cross Buns
The cross atop these seasonal treats is to signify ...

Today marks the start of Real Bread Week (23 February to 3 March), an initiative by the Real Bread Campaign which seeks to find ways to make this daily staple better for us – and the planet.
According to the RBC, ‘real’ bread comes without any additives or processing aids – this means no ‘fast acting’ or ‘easy bake’ stuff wi ...

As January, traditionally a month of austerity, draws to a close, there’s a treat in store for anyone who is on their last nerve with kombucha, skinny lattes and cross trainers.
Today is International Chocolate Cake Day!
For a potted history of chocolate itself, have a little peek {http://www.capitalcooking.co.uk/blog/f ...

Game – from venison to quail - is a divisive foodstuff. It’s either someone’s very first choice or dismissed out of hand for being too, well, “gamey”.
Typically served in the autumn and winter months, game consists of any and all animals or birds which are historically hunted for food rather than being reared on a farm.
T ...

As the nights draw in and the temperature dips it’s only natural to seek out all the cosy things in life – cashmere socks, woolly hats, log fire and comforting grub. With this in mind, we’re celebrating the world’s most comforting staple food.
Contrary to popular belief – Italians didn’t invent pasta. Marco Polo did not brin ...

From Essex oysters to Welsh lobster and Scottish salmon, the UK boasts a dazzling array of seafood.
National Seafood Week – and eight-day celebration of the bounty found in our island’s waters, starts today.
And why should we eat more seafood? Well, the health benefits are numerous. Oily sea fish contains plenty of Omega- ...

Look, we know that chocolate isn’t the best thing for us but a little bit of what you fancy really does do you good. And besides, this particular delight has captivated taste buds for centuries.
Chocolate was discovered in Central America around 900 AD by the Mayan people, who called it “food of the Gods”. Cocoa was so valua ...

Welcome to Organic September – spearheaded by {https://www.soilassociation.org>The Soil Association} all about raising awareness of organic food.
We all know organic is better. But why is it better? What exactly is organic food anyway? And why is it more expensive?
Organic simply means ‘natural’ – as nature intended wi ...

Yes, there really is a National Burger Day – on 23rd August to be precise. We’re ready for it – and so will you be once you’ve read our guide to making the best burgers – whatever your tastes.
No one is really sure where the burger originated.
There was a popular cookbook The Art Of Cookery published in 1758 (no that date ...

Fuzz wrapped around juicy flesh – the peach is such a treat, a simple pleasure and synonymous with summer and sweetness. Its botanic name – Prunus Persica – implies that the peach was originally from the Middle East, it was actually from further east than that – in China. In Asia generally the peach is a common symbol of immorta ...

There are few things more joyful than a bulging bag of ripe cherries – and today’s the day to get your hands on some, given that it marks National Cherry Day, which aims to encourage us Brits to eat home-
grown cherries.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to how cherries arrived in Britain. One is that they came ...

Didn’t think the humble pea warranted an entire week dedicated to celebrating in its honour? Well, you’d be wrong. Today marks the start of Great British Pea Week which will see the heritage and nutritional importance of this little green superfood come to the fore.
Each of us eat 9,000 on average of these little green beaut ...

Summer in Britain is synonymous with berries; strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and gooseberries are all seasonal from June until late summer. Whether you are lucky enough to have an abundance of fruits growing near your home or even in your own gardens, or if the market will have to do, the possibilities are endless. From ...

Tomorrow will see the start of National Picnic Week (15 to 24 June) and, if we say so ourselves, Capital Cooking are something of an authority on the subject, having catered for all sorts of al fresco events. Working in testing environments, often without fully kitted out (oe any) kitchens has made us truly understand what it ta ...

Once upon a time, a meal wasn’t complete without meat. Veggies used to be seen as a side offering or, for children, a necessary evil, eaten only to gain access to ice creams or cake. Not anymore.
Designed to encourage people to make and enjoy vegetarian food, National Vegetarian Week celebrates meat-free living – whether on ...

The Capital Cooking team are now master tea makers thanks to Cath Kidston.
The iconic clothing and homeware brand’s 25th anniversary celebrations – held over four days at the end of April - saw a range of vintage-inspired events take place across the UK. Most notably a fleet of milk floats decorated with various distinctive ...

There is almost nothing more British than tea. As a nation we drink approximately 165 million cups of the stuff each and every day. It’s an institution which cuts through class, sex, status and wealth.
Tea first became popular in the UK during the 17th century. It was first sold in coffee houses, ironically, but by 1750 it wa ...

After stuffing ourselves full to bursting with chocolate eggs and hot cross buns, nothing has ever been more needed than an entire day dedicated to good health.
Healthy eating is usually seen from one of two distinct perspectives: the obsessive and puritanical or the bored and mocking. Here at Capital Cooking, we like to thi ...

A Moveable Feast: Easter Day
Some of us have fasted during Lent, while many of us have been eating Cadbury’s Crème eggs with complete abandon since mid-February.
Eggs are synonymous with Easter - the Christian festival which celebrates the rebirth of Christ –and with the egg representing the stone being rolled away from ...

St Patrick’s Day is almost upon us but it’s more than wearing green and necking Guinness in Irish pubs while singing Danny Boy.
St Patrick is a patron saint of Ireland and his day –17th March – is when Irish culture is especially honoured. Legend has it that St Patrick drove every last snake from Ireland, although it is a ...

This week - 12-18 March - marks National Butchers’ Week, which aims to honour the best of British butchers. We list the benefits of buying your meat with a butcher.
1. You get better quality meat
You will get much more variety but also you can see the quality just by looking at it. And none of the meat will have been tamp ...